Tuesday, March 17, 2015

1. Leadership Skills

As a service leader you have the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the community and it's many involvement programs. These programs help to influence change in the community and can have a strong impact on you for the rest of your life. You will have the opportunity to improve your skills and strengths as you take on tasks that will boost your resume and ensure you have an amazing college experience.

2. Giving Others the Opportunity to Serve

Being able to provide opportunities for others to serve will always bring a smile to your face.

3. Resources

Not only is the Community Engagement Center an awesome place to hang out, but you have resources like the HOPE pantry, extra computers to use, and contact information for community members. You can always get things accomplished here, and you have amazing faculty and staff to help.

4. There's Always Something to Do!

There are always things to do for others, and the center always has options and ideas. If you're bored you can just swing by and assist in one of the many programs the center sponsors. It can definitely keep you busy on a slow day.

5. Meeting New People

The absolute BEST part of being a service leader are the friends you make. The many programs offered through the Community Engagement Center allow for you to meet fellow students, network with administrators and alumni, and connect with community members. The friendships you make and cultivate through service are relationships that can last a lifetime. All the service leaders work hard together and they are always there to lend a helping hand.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

If you ask anyone, "What do you want out of life?"- regardless of whether it's a successful job, a family, a good relationship or something else- it always boils down to one emotion: happiness. That's all anyone wants out of life, is to be happy.

Shawn Achor sat down with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year to discuss what he had found in his "happiness-research" he completed at Harvard. The following tips are based on his inspirational advice, and they REALLY WORK!

Regardless of whether it's the start of the month or not, it's never to late to start living a happier life! Try out these tips and let us know what you think!

Monday, February 9, 2015

1. Express gratitude.

Negative events have a large effect on life unless you consciously balance them out. When faced with challenges, it's important to think of all that's going right in your life before you tackle that which is going wrong. Thinking about the good in your life can help balance that negative bias, giving your brain the extra time it needs to register and remember a positive event.

To help your brain store positive events, reflect on what you're grateful for and why at least once a week. Write down your blessings, such as the opportunity to pursue a career you love or a family that supports you. If you prefer a daily habit, then keep a nightly log of good things that happened that day. Keep things short and sweet- if you start making these too complicated and drawn-out then these positive effects become negative effects.

2. Repeat positive affirmations.

As any politician or advertiser knows, the more often you hear a message, the more likely you are to believe it. The same goes for messages about who you are and what you are capable of doing. By repeating positive affirmations with conviction several times each morning, you are training your brain to believe them.

Choose two to three affirmations that represent your values and goals, such as 'I can handle whatever comes my way,' 'There is plenty of time,' or 'I'm getting better every day.' The repetition will influence the way you interpret negative events, making you more resilient. This can be especially effective for those who have a predisposition for negative thinking.

3. Challenge negative thoughts.

Each time a negative thought arises, we choose how to respond. If left to our own devices, we tend to dwell. Our brains home in on negative events so they seem much bigger and more significant than they are. To combat that, start by imagining the thought as separate from yourself, as something you can observe and deconstruct. Distance yourself from the issue instead of dwelling on it.

Next, challenge negative thoughts that are unfairly self-deprecating. For example, if your start up doesn't get the traction you hoped, you might think, "I'm a failure." That's untrue and unproductive. Instead, practice interpreting the same event differently. You might say, I worked really hard but I didn't account for a quirk of the market, so I'm disappointed, but now I'm going to try again with new information. That interpretation is gentler, truer, and more proactive. At first, this strategy will be hard and you'll think it doesn't work, but over time, it'll become automatic and negative thoughts will be less likely to come up. No one does this naturally; you have to learn and practice.

About Me

The Community Engagement Center promotes lifelong learning and service through campus and community opportunities that uphold our core values of academic excellence, personal and social responsibility, and transformative learning.